Page 72 of Shattered

Drew shrugged his shoulders. “Inked practically runs itself, and we could check in here just like we are currently doing for the shops in Charleston. And Topline is doing great. They don’t need you there checking in every single day. Step back from it all. Spend a little of that money you keep shoving in the bank. Go surfing. Have some great summer sex with girls you don’t have to worry about seeing again.”

“You mean have great summer sex with someone who’s not her.”

“Exactly.”

“For some reason, I don’t think that will make it go away.”

Drew shrugged. “It probably won’t. But I can’t stand to see you like this. You mope around here day in and day out. The only time you even get a tad bit excited about anything anymore is when you know she’s on the schedule.”

“I want her. But…but there is this thing between us that would never go away. It would be like a constant stitch in my side.”

“Is she worth letting it go?”

“What?” Callum tossed the empty bottle in the trash.

“Whatever it is that is coming between y'all, is she worth enough to you to just let that thing go?”

Callum mulled over Drew’s question but didn’t answer. He also didn’t acknowledge the fact that he had to blink a few times to clear the vision that had barely begun to blur. He’d never before let emotions overtake him, and he damn sure wasn’t about to start now. He turned his head and wiped the offending eyes, just to be sure his emotions knew who was in control before he walked down the stairs toward his bedroom.

Just before he shut the door to start getting dressed for work, he cleared his throat and called back up, “I can stay at the Mount Pleasant house until I find somewhere else to rent.”

And then he shut the door to his room and to all thoughts of a future with Sam. She wanted to just be friends, and friends is what he would be.

Chapter 30 - Sam

She was surprised how calm she felt walking into Topline the next day. There was no promise he would be there, but there was always a chance.

When she’d walked out of the coffee shop two days earlier, she had started to block his number, and then remembered that friends didn’t do that. She wasn’t going to hate him anymore. She was just going to live her life and realize that she may still see him due to circumstances she couldn’t control. She would most likely see him at work and at his townhome, and even smiled at the thought that she might have to endure being in a wedding party with him one day, should Micah and Kristin ever decide to make it official.

Then she cringed at the idea of him bringing a date that wasn’t her, and promptly shut that train of thought down. There was going to be no more thinking of Callum Barker.

That was, until she recognized the song playing in the background.

The Lakesby Taylor Swift flowed through the air and she had to stop for a moment to listen to the words. A small smile crept across her face.

“You were right. She’s pretty good,” Callum said from behind her.

When Sam turned, she found him leaning against a post separating two sections.

“This is one of my favorites,” Sam said.

“I spent most of the last twenty-four hours going through her musical catalog.”

Her eyebrows peaked in surprise. “And what did you think?”

“It wasn’t too bad.”

“That’s all?”

A flush of crimson embarrassment covered his features. “It was really good. I downloaded all of her albums.”

“Oh no!” Sam exclaimed.

“What? I thought you would like that.”

“I should have warned you. We only buy the newer albums that she owns or the older ones that are part of TV.”

Callum furrowed his brows in confusion. “What does that mean?”

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